AUS v SL 1st Test ball-by-ball

Australia v Sri Lanka - Day 5 of 1st Sri Lanka in Australia

Complete

First ball:
10:30 AM December 14, 2012
Location: Blundstone Arena

Match Summary

Australia: 5/450 & 9/278
Sri Lanka: 10/336 & 10/255

Latest comments (all times EDT):

1807: Well Jayawardene and Sangakkara have survived a testing little period to go to stumps at 2-65. They trail by 328 with a day left to play. Australia's injury curse continued today with captain Clarke retiring hurt with a hamstring injury. He had scans on it today but won't know the results until tomorrow. I hope you will join me, Trent Hile, again from 10.10am (EDT) tomorrow as we see whether the Aussies can wrap things up for their first win of the summer.

1801: Watson to bowl the final over of the day to Sangakkara.

1759: FOUR! Jayawardene receives a rank half-tracker from Hussey and makes no mistake with dispatching it to the cover boundary.

1756: Strap yourselves in cricket lovers - Michael Hussey is into the attack.

1743: Jayawardene on strike to Siddle. He's yet to get off the mark after facing 22 deliveries.

1734: The ghosts in this pitch continue to rear their heads. Shane Watson gets his first ball to just about roll to Sangakarra. Thankfully for the Sri Lankan, it was outside the off stump.

1732: What did that hit?! Siddle comes into the attack and bowls to Jayawardene. He gets one to move on an angle that Shane Warne would happily see one of his leg-spinners deviate. It obviously got some assistance from one of the cracks. Jayawardene can only smile - no batsman would hit that.

1727: FOUR! Lyon drops short to Sangakkara and he punches him away to the rope with a classy square drive. He moves to 16 while the skipper is yet to score from 12 deliveries.

1723: Ouch! Starc gets one to jag and bounce back violently at Sangakkara and it thuds into his stomach. The veteran grins. He's obviously got some protection under there.

1707: That brings the skipper Jayawardene to the crease. If Australia can remove one of this pair tonight, they'll go a long way to winning this Test.

1704: WICKET! (Karunaratne 30, b Starc, SL 2-47) Starc knocks over Karunaratne with a ripper! He surprises the Sri Lankan opener with a yorker fired in at off-stump and the big Karuna is too late in getting his bat down on it. The ball cannons into the off peg and Starc celebrates.

1655: FOUR! The big Karuna (as I've dubbed him) records the first boundary in a while, chipping Lyon over mid-wicket for four. He's now 28 off 78. His partner Sangakkara is finding it equally tough, scoring five singles in 35 balls. That's certainly not his style.

1650: Australia have slowed Sri Lanka's run rate to a crawl here, the Sri Lankans struggling to work Nathan Lyon into the gaps. Clarke throws the ball back to Mitchell Starc for his second spell of the innings and he starts with a shocking delivery that is lucky not to be called a wide. The Aussie quick rediscovers his line with the remaining five balls of the over, with one delivery keeping low and rolling through to Wade behind the stumps.

1638: CHANCE! Sangakkara rocks onto the back foot for the cut-shot and gets an edge to Michael Clarke at slip. The Aussie captain grasses the chance though with the ball hitting him quite high on the hands. The Aussies would have loved to have seen the back of Sangakkara for another low score.

1633: FOUR! Karunaratne finally breaks the shackles as Shane Watson strays onto his pads. The Sri Lanka batsman works Watson through mid-wicket and out the boundary in a quality stroke. A few of Watson's deliveries are just dying as they travel past the batsmen, with keeper Matthew Wade taking the odd ball on the second bounce. The Aussie all-rounder finds the pad of Karunaratne and, curiously, there isn't much of an appeal. He was coming around the wicket however. Sri Lanka 1-35.

1625: Watson and Lyon are giving the Sri Lankans very little width to work with and Karunaratne, in particular, looks to be getting quite frustrated. Clarke is the only man in the slip cordon with Michael Hussey in a shortish gully while Phil Hughes is in at short cover. Sri Lanka are 1-30.

1620: David Warner misses a wonderful chance of a run-out just moments after the commentators had been discussing a n injury concern for the Aussie batsman. Warner picked up the ball at point and had all three stumps to aim at at the non-striker's end but his throw was well wide. He appears to be battling an elbow complaint at the moment, which can't have made the attempt easy.

1616: There doesn't appear to be too much turn out there for Lyon with the Sri Lankans playing him comfortably off the back foot. Sri Lanka are now 1-28.

1613: Kumar Sangakkara is now at the wicket and he manages to negotiate the remainder of Watson's over. The veteran Sri Lanka batsman will be desperate to make a score in the second innings after failing in his first dig. Australia are going to try some spin now with Nathan Lyon coming into the attack.

1609: WICKET! Shane Watson gets the breakthrough for Australia as he has Tillakaratne Dilshan caught behind with the first ball of his spell! The Aussie all-rounder was immediately on the spot and just got one to go away from the right-hander and pick up the edge. It was a comfortable catch for Matthew Wade behind the stumps, the opener departing for 11. Sri Lanka are now 1-26.

1608: Starc goes within a whisker of the opening wicket with a brilliant yorker to Karunaratne. The Aussie quick and Sri Lankan opener are having quite a battle at the moment.

1607: Rippersportspro of NSW says: @Parko, I most certainly remember that run chase in '99 with Gilly (149 not out) and Langer (127) scoring centuries after Australia were 5-126 chasing 369 for victory, which at the time was the 4th highest successful run chase. You are also right in saying that Hussey has a knack of being a partnership breaker. Speaking of which, Hussey is the first batsman to score 3 Test centuries in Hobart. Warner perhaps could be another bowling option if required. @Paul and @Minh Man: You are both spot on about Clarke's batting form and the whole of Australia will be praying that he is fit for Melbourne, which is the only main ground in Australia that Clarke has not scored a Test century on.

1600: Australia go up for and LBW shout on Karunaratne and despite their being plenty of evidence of an inside edge, Clarke opts for a referral. The video review clearly shows a thick inside edge, leaving Peter Siddle to return to the top of his mark.

1549: We've got a few words exchanged between bowler and batsman here. Karunaratne drives the ball back down the wicket and Starc takes a shot at the stumps, to the Sri Lankan's disgust.

1547: Close! FOUR! Starc gets a good delivery to jag back at Karunaratne and finds the inside edge. The ball evades a diving Matthew Wade and runs away for four.

1544: With Clarke out of action, we might see overs from David Warner as this pitch gets slower.

1530: Mixed bag in the first over from Starc, with five runs from it. Lets hope he can find his lines with Hilfenhaus out of action.

1526: Mitchell Starc will have first use of the new ball with the left-hander Karunaratne taking strike. Dilshan is at the other end.

1525: Joel Bridgwood asks: "Hey Trent. Just wondering if you think Clarke will field? If not do you think Watson will be guided by him, and who will field given Johnson is already fielding for Hilfenhaus??"

Trent says: Hi Joel. I can tell you that the good news is Clarke is out there on the field. We've seen a couple of Tassie youngsters - including Penrith boy Jordan Silk, who took a good outfield catch in the first innings - perform the 12th man duties so far, so I'd imagine they'll be called upon again should Clarke go off.

1504: WICKET! (Hilfenhaus 0, LBW Herath, AUS 9-278: lead by 392) Herath drifts on into Hilfenhaus' front pad and that's a straightforward decision for the umpire. Hussey remains unbeaten on 31 and Herath picks up another five-wicket haul to extend his lead at the top of the international wicket-taker's list.

1459: Mark asks: Hi Trent, I thought they gave more power to the umpires so if 1/5th of the ball is hitting stump shouldn't that be umpire's choice instead of hitting?

Trent says: That's correct Mark - so with the Starc decision, he was given out and then reviewed the decision. The one-fifth of the ball hitting the stumps meant the decision stayed with the umpire.

1454: WICKET! (Lyon 11, b Herath, AUS 8-271) Herath gets the last laugh as Lyon goes to the well once too often with the sweep shot, being knocked over after an entertaining 11.

1453: FOUR! Impressive stuff from Lyon! The young offie shows he's no slouch with the bat, sweeping Hearath in front of square with superb timing.

1450: FOUR! Lyon clips one beautifully through mid-wicket off Welegedara to pick up his first boundary of the innings.

1441: WICKET! ... wait, they'll review that. Welegedara gets one to tail back in sharply to Starc and catches him on the toe. Umpire Hill raises the finger. Starc sticks around to challenge. Well it was close, but there's about a fifth of the ball clipping leg stump so the decision stands. (Starc 4, LBW Welegedara, AUS 7-256)

1440: FOUR! Starc cracks Welegedara straight back down the pitch for four on just his second delivery faced.

1437: WICKET! (Siddle 4, c Jayawardene b Welegedara AUS 6-250) What a catch from the keeper Jayawardene! Siddle edges a good-length delivery from the left-armer Welegedara and Jayawardene takes a brilliant one-handed catch in front of first slip. Mitchell Starc comes to the crease for the first time since his little cameo against the Proteas in Perth.

1436: FOUR! Siddle joins in on the act, with a tidy punch off the back foot through the leg-side for four. Herath is really starting to leak runs now.

1433: SIX! Hussey takes off from where Clarke left proceedings by belting Herath over extra cover for a big six. That's a remarkable shot!

1432: Clarke retires hurt! The skipper isn't happy with what appears to be his hamstring and decides not to risk it. He leaves the field, retired hurt for 57 off 46.

1429: FOUR! Clarke gets a juicey full-toss from Welegedara and belts him through mid-wicket for four. AUS 5-238

1426: FIFTY TO CLARKE! The skipper belts one straight down the ground and picks up three to move to 51. It's come off just 49 balls. A remarkle little cameo considering the conditions.

1424: SIX! This time Clarke goes square of the wicket with a crisply hit slog sweep. It bounces over the rope and half-volleys into the fence.

1423: FOUR! Super shot from Clarke. He uses his feet to get to the pitch of a Herath delivery and finds the gap between long-on and deep mid-wicket.

1420: FOUR! Clarke steers one masterfully through the vacant third man region for four. That wasn't a bad ball from Weledegara, just a super shot from Clarke. AUS 5-214, lead by 328.

1417: Appeal ... review. Clarke prods forward to Herath and gets caught on the pad, but it appears as though he got safely outside the line of off stump. Jayawardene goes for Sri Lanka's final review but with no luck - while it would have gone on to hit the stumps, that hit him a fair way outside off.

1406: FOUR! Clarke gets down low and sweeps a Herath full-bunger along the ground and to the fence on the leg-side. He's up to 27 and the lead is 316.

1404: FOUR! Clarke advances down the track to Welegedara and gets a healthy leading edge in attempting to drive. It lands safely over the head of cover and hops away to the rope.

1403: I'm loving umpire Nigel Long's method of deliberation. Welegedara has a shout for LBW against Clarke, and umpire Long arches his neck and waits for the bowler to finish before declaring "not out".

1400: Scott of Grimoz0507 says: "Hate to say it but Sri Lanka are in with a real chance of pinching this test now, 300-350 wont be enough in my opinion."

Trent says: It's certainly opened the door. However it does look tough to make runs with the pitch getting slower and lower.

1355: FOUR! Hussey gets his innings underway by using soft hands to guide one through the gully region for four.

1353: The way things are headed at the moment, Clarke might not have to worry about a declaration.

1346: The ball is keeping noticably low with this soft ball, but Wade and Clarke are rotating the strike nicely. They're both going at more than a run-a-ball as the lead passes 293.

1344: Parko of Queanbeyan on the Watson stumping: "Wade would have stuffed that up. Can you imagine if Wade kept to Warnie?!?!? Watto's slowly losing his batting mojo and my faith in him at four is waning."

Trent says: It was a very lazy piece of cricket from Watson.

1334: WICKET! (Hughes 16, b Eranga, AUS 4-165) Australia lose another one! Hughes plays a pretty ordinary shot to Eranga who cramps him for room around the wicket, chopping the ball back onto his stumps. Australia have now lost 4-48.

1333: FOUR! Superbly-timed sweep from Wade, who pierces the gap in front of square for a boundary.

1326: Interesting move by Australia, with Matthew Wade being sent in (I'd imagine as a pinch hitter). I wonder if Parko approves of the move?

1322: WICKET! (Watson 5, st Jayawardene b Herath, AUS 3-153) Third time lucky for Sri Lanka, but not so for Watson who departs for 5. Herath draws him slightly out of his crease, dragging the back foot, and Jayawardene whips off the bails before he can get back.

1321: Watson survives another big shout for LBW.

1317: That was a bit of a 'stinker' from umpire Hill. Perhaps he was trying to give Herath a get-square for his shocking LBW decision.

1313: Wicket! wait ... REVIEW: Watson goes back to Herath from around the wicket and doesn't offer a shot - it hits him outside the line and the Sri Lankans go up. After a lengthy deliberation, umpire Hill raises the finger! Watson challenges the decision and thankfully too; that was missing the stumps by a long way. Watson survives.

1311: Watson and Hughes are back out in the middle and ready to resume.

1308: JN of Brisbane says: "Say what you like about Warner but he basically seems to only get out caught. That spells CLASS to me. Shame he got out though. Would have been nice to see him go the tonk after lunch."

Trent says: Interesting argument - is someone who consistently gets themselves out caught classier than a player who gets out to good balls? The floor is open...

1301: So with a lead of 260, the general consensus is that Clarke will want another 100-150 runs by tea to declare. There is a slight chance of rain this afternoon but the forecast is clear for tomorrow.

1231: While enjoying a sandwich over lunch, I highly recommend you take a peek at Brett Geeves' 'unique' insight into day three. The former Tassie quick has been a real hit with foxsports.com.au users with his daily articles this Test.

1230: LUNCH: Watson and Hughes survive to the break. Australia are 2-146: a lead of 260.

1224: Watson looks a touch edgy at the crease. He's played and missed first up, then squared up by Welegedara. Hughes is equally contained by Herath. It looks like this wicket isn't easy to get in on.

1215: WICKET! (Cowan 56, b Welegedara, AUS 2-140) Cowan gets an absolute ripper from Welegedara that jags back off the seam and goes straight through the gate, knocking over his middle stump. That brings Shane Watson to the crease.

1212: With just under 20 minutes until lunch, Australia's lead is now 254.

1208: Grant of Sydney asks: "When was the last time the Australian opening pair put on 100 together?? Feels like an age since back to the days of Langer and Hayden!"

Trent says: This was Cowan and Warner's second 100+ partnership: they put on 214 against India in Perth last summer

1203: Phillip Hughes comes to the crease and will be keen to add to his 86 in the first innings. He's made plenty of runs in the Ryobi Cup this year, so perhaps the requirement of quick runs will suit.

1159: WICKET! (Warner 68, c P Jayawardene b Herath, AUS 1-132) Sri Lanka finally get the breakthrough as Warner departs, having edged Herath to the keeper Jayawardene who juggles it but takes the second chance. The lead is now 247.

1153: FOUR! The Warner switch-hit is back! Herath can only shake his head in disbelief as Warner changes grip and stance to a right-hander, clubbing him through cover (to a left-hander) for a boundary.

1151: FOUR! Fifty to Cowan: The Tasmanian gets some width from Welegedara and cuts him away to join his partner Warner past the 50 milestone.

1145: SIX! Here we go! Warner shuffles out of his crease and hoicks Herath over the mid-wicket fence for a big six. It looks like he's going put the foot down now. AUS 0-117

1142: Warner walks down the pitch to Welegedara and attempts to hoist him over cow corner - but misses. We might be about to see a change in gears from the Aussies.

1139: FOUR!Fifty to Warner: Welegedara is back into the attack and immediately drops short to Warner. The nuggety opener rocks onto the back foot and pulls him away in front of square. That's another Test fifty to the little New South Welshman. 0-107

1133: FOUR! Cowan breaks the shackles with a pull shot to Kulasekara. Hot Spot shows it came flush off the toe, but had enough juice to find the rope. The lead is up to 217. AUS 0-103.

1126: Mark from BrisVegas says: "I was thinking about what Cowan needs to make in this dig for both he and Ian Chappell to feel as though they are BOTH correct. He gets out cheaply, and Chappelli has the last laugh. He scores the century and he is all smiles. What is the middle ground where they both win the argument? I say 47."

Trent says: Is it just me, or do they both seem like the type of blokes that will keep telling us they're correct regardless? If Cowan does get a score, Chappelli can probably argue that he should have been out LBW last night.

1118: FOUR! ... and they're made to run all of them. Cowan cuts Herath but it's high on the bat, pulling up just short of the rope. The pair scamper through for four - and almost get a fifth from a misfield. AUS 0-87

1116: Rangana Herath replaces Mathews in the attack. Lets see if he can carry on the good work of his pacemen.

1115: Whippy of Australia asks: "Are the Sri Lankans bowling tight, or is Cowan and Warner just not rotating the strike much? 29 overs gone for 80 runs is quite slow. Warner's strike rate of sub 50 runs per 100 balls suggest he is getting bogged down. Cowan's is about right, though he looks like the aggressor!"

Trent says: The wicket is playing a little bit lower and slower which is making scoring harder. Sri Lanka's bowlers are doing a good job - bowling good areas and to their field.

1112: Samuel Jensen says: "Maybe Wade should get a nice comfy armchair to wicketkeep from? seems to be the best way to go about it..."

1109: Appeal ... review: Cowan appears to play and miss a fullish delivery in trying to defend. There's a shout from behind the stumps but umpire Hill isn't interested. The tourists opt for the DRS but the noise they heard was probably the bat flicking pad. Not out.

1106: Parko of Queanbeyan says: "Heckler?!?!? Don't bite the hand that feeds you. However, "the complete package" is someone who can 'keep 100% and bat consistantly well - I don't think Wade does either."

Trent says: I reckon you'd do well to name one keeper in history who could "keep 100% and bat consistently well" - even Adam Gilchrist had knockers of his keeping ability and went through lean trots with the bat. It's a tough caper, keeping for 100+ overs then being expected to make big scores. Look at how the keeping duties have affected a guy like AB De Villers. That hundred in Perth was his first in a year.

1058: There's a few figures filtering in for a proposed declaration:

Scott of Geelong says: "I think the Aussies need at least a 400 run lead, with the talent in the SL batting lineup it would too risky to give them too much of a sniff, and Dilshan proved that he can score at a rapid rate so they wouldnt want to let him off the leash because he could get them close very fast."

Paul of Tasmania says: "I think Clarke would be looking for a declaration target of 350 with a few overs to bowl before tea. Wish I could be there again today, can't get there until later."

Rippersportspro of NSW says: "Clarke should declare about half an hour before tea and set Sri Lanka around about 350-400. Considering today and tomorrow are both 98-over days, the Aussies can bat for a bit longer than they anticipated today, but Clarke will also be mindful of giving his bowlers enough overs to bowl Sri Lanka out a second time. Also, no team batting first has lost a Test in Hobart."

Trent says: I shall forward all on to Pup...

1056: There you go Alex of Plymouth ... As Cowan turns one square and sets off for a run, the call is "how many?" They settle for a single. AUS 0-79

1051: Ricky of NSW asks: "Trentster, do you see similarities between this test and Adelaide up to this point? Australia building on a big lead heading in to day for 4 with a bowler down going into the last innings of the game. Will history repeat itself?"

Trent says: I actually do, Ricky. I snapped up the $6 about the draw in Adelaide and was going to take it on again this morning - sadly the pub across the road from work was closed. The way Dilshan and Mathews made it look so easy yesterday makes me think if Sangakkara and Jayawardene can chip in too, we might be headed for a stalemate.

1049: Cowan and Warner doing it nicely this morning. This pitch is still playing truly with no sign of that green monster so many feared last week.

1036: Parko of Queanbeyan says: "The Trenster's on time! These early mornings must be killing you... what do you reckon, Wade's wicket keeping up to Test standard? Would you rather a "specialist" keeper?"

Trent says: I was tempted to hit the snooze button on the early alarm but knew I'd have to sneak past you, Parko. What is your profession again? ... professional heckler? Wade's a work in progress - If we're going on pure keeping ability, I think Tim Paine is the premier gloveman in the country. But as Wade has shown in his six Tests, his batting is a real asset. These days, selectors want that complete package.

1024: FOUR!FOUR! Welegedara is too short and wide again, and Cowan takes full advantage with a superbly placed cut behind square. Cowan finishes the over with a tidy flick through mid-wicket for four. AUS 0-61

1021: As an Eranga delivery flicks Warner's pad and runs away for four leg byes, the big question today is how many do Australia need to declare? The loss of Ben Hilfenhaus will make things difficult for captain Clarke. And while the skies are clear this morning, there's always a threat of rain in the apple isle. How many do you think the Aussies need? Send through your suggestions by posting a comment or emailing me at blogs@foxsports.com.au.

1017: FOUR! Welegedara gives Cowan some width outside of off stump and he cuts brilliantly behind square for a boundary. AUS 0-43

1011: FOUR! Pitched up by Eranga again and it's more of the same from Warner, who thrashes it through backward point for four to join Cowan on 16.

1006: Chanaka Welegedera will operate from the Church St End. He was Sri Lanka's most successful bowler in the first innings with three scalps.

1004: Eranga pitches up on the last ball of the over and Warner drives it square of the wicket for four. Australia now lead by 145.

1001: We're underway on day four with Shaminda Eranga bowling to David Warner.

1000: Morning all, and welcome to foxsports.com.au's continued coverage of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Hobart. Trent Hile joining you again to guide you through the action on day four. David Warner and Ed Cowan will resume with Australia 0-27, a lead of 141 runs.

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